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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Thomas Caltagirone |
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Caltagirone's animal cruelty bill passes House
HARRISBURG, Feb. 11 – Less than one month after state Rep. Thomas Caltagirone reintroduced his bill to restrict the ability of untrained individuals to perform certain surgeries on Pennsylvania dogs, the legislation today passed the full House.
"My hope was to get this bill signed into law last year when we instituted sweeping reforms on kennel and puppy mill operations in the Commonwealth," said Caltagirone, D-Berks. "After months of negotiations, the bill finally is running clean the way it was intended."
Caltagirone's bill (H.B. 39) proposes significant changes to the state's animal cruelty law by prohibiting owners and breeders from performing debarking (cutting or destroying a dog’s vocal cords) and Cesarean sections. The current law provides little to no oversight over what Caltagirone says has become an alarmingly common practice – breeders and owners, with no formal training, personally performing surgical procedures on their animals.
Caltagirone's bill would allow owners to perform tail docking on dogs up to 5 days old. After that, docking would be allowed only until the dogs are 12 weeks old, provided the dog is under anesthesia and the procedure is performed by a licensed veterinarian. Removing a dog's dewclaws without anesthesia would also be permitted, but only for dogs up to 5 days old.
"These surgeries are more gruesome than I care to explain," Caltagirone said. "Dogs are supposed to bring love and joy into the homes of their owners. To satisfy that need, many breeders have been woefully irresponsible, subjecting the animals to infection and serious pain.
"Can you imagine if we put people under the knife in this manner? Dogs cannot protect themselves; we are supposed to take care of them. My bill implements zero tolerance for the many types of surgeries that, when performed incorrectly, cause major suffering."
The bill also would authorize personnel working in federally registered research clinics to perform Cesarean sections, but only in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and while under the supervision of a veterinarian. It also would permit dog wardens to file cruelty charges against kennels when there is no Humane Society police officer to do so.
Several Berks County organizations support the proposal, including the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, the Humane Society of Berks County and Mainline Animal Rescue. Other state and national supporters are the Harrisburg Area and York County Humane Society chapters, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Luzerne County, the Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.